The Last of Us Two
by jimmyjimjimmy12
Summary: Three months after Joel and Ellie returned to Tommy's dam, a young survivor arrives. Joel learns that he is connected to his neighbors before the outbreak, but has trouble getting along with him. Our favorite characters, as well as some new ones, soon set out on a new journey, though they never planned to.
1. Chapter 1 Infected

**(AN) I hope you guys enjoy this story. Please let me know what should be changed, and i would appreciate it if you guys could give me ideas for future chapters.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own ****_The Last of Us_**** or any of it's characters.**

The Last of Us

Chapter One, Infected

As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, Bailey Cooper sat with her father in the large family room of their house. The television was on the news, but neither of them where paying any attention to it. Right now, they where preoccupied with Bailey's uncle, who was speaking to her father on the phone.

"Karl, are you guys alright?"

"Yes, George, we're fine." Karl Cooper replied. "What is wrong?"

"Is Bailey there?" He asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Can she hear what I am saying?"

Karl looked at his daughter who shook her head innocently.

"Yeah, she can hear you."

"She shouldn't hear this; no thirteen year-old should hear this."

Karl looked back at his daughter. "Stay here, Bailey; I'll be right back."

She nodded. "OK."

Karl stood and walked out of the room. "George, what is he matter?"

"Listen, Karl; I'm on my way to your house. In the meantime you have _got_ to stay away from the windows. Get your gun, don't open the door to anybody but me, you hear?"

"I hear you, George, but what is going-"

"Something bad is going down all over the state. I just heard from some of our relatives over in Texas; the same thing is going on there. Turn on the news; if you _really_ want to know, it'll explain everything." George said. "Stay safe." And with that, he hung up.

"George, what-" Karl sighed and set the phone on the counter. He walked back to the living room but stopped. George had never been one for jokes. Something had to be happening, otherwise he never would have called like that. He turned towards basement stairs and began descending down them.

Karl stepped onto the cold concrete and made his way towards the back of the basement, where a door sat in the wall. He opened it and slid a metal trunk out. He unfastened the clasps on the sides and opened it up. Inside was a duffel bag which carried four hunting rifles and a revolver. He slung it over his shoulder and shoved the trunk back into the closet.

"I hope you know what you where talking about, George." Karl murmured to himself a he returned to the living room.

He found Bailey staring wide-eyed at the television. "Dad..."

"What is it, Bailey?" Karl asked, sitting next to his daughter on the couch.

"The T.V... is this fake?" Her voice wavered.

Karl's eyes moved to the television, where a reporter was speaking as people ran in the background.

_"This evening, a massive outbreak occurred of an unknown virus. Originally, several civilians where infected, but the virus has spread through the bite of the diseased. An infected civilian has been captured and several vaccines have been used. Unfortunately no cure has been found. All personnel are strongly advised to remain in their homes until the outbreak has been resolved, and all infected contained. In the meantime-"_

The reporter was cut off as something jumped on her from the side. The view from the camera shook, indicating that the camera man was scrambling backwards. Her scream was cut short and gruesome sounds came from the T.V.

"Daddy..." Bailey said, beginning to panic. "Is that... _thing_... is it eating her?"

Karl stared at the screen. "I... I don't know, bailey." He turned it off.

"Are we going to be alright, dad?"

"Yes, I promise; nothing will happen to you."

There was a pounding on the front door, and both of them jumped.

"Lets just calm down, alright, Bailey. That's probably just Uncle George." Karl unzipped the bag and pulled out his revolver. _Just in case_. He thought.

"Stay here, baby, alright?"

Bailey nodded. "OK, daddy." She pulled her legs up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around them.

Before he left the room, Karl turned off the T.V and flicked on the lights. The sun had completely fallen behind the distant buildings and it was getting darker. He walked through the house to the front door. Whoever was pounding wanted in. Badly.

"George?" Karl called.

No answer; only furious pounding.

"Brother, is that you?" Karl raised his gun and slowly moved towards the door. He reached slowly out towards the door knob.

_Crack!_

The door shook and the frame splintered slightly.

"Holy sh-!" Karl jumped back in fright and surprise. He aimed his gun and crouched into a defensive stance, waiting for the next blow.

The door slammed open, and two figures dashed into the room, headed straight for Karl. He shot the first and lunged to the side as the other reached him. The figure hit the wall and toppled backwards. Bailey's father faced the figure once again and raised his gun. Nothing happened. The gun didn't fire.

"Dammit!"

Karl looked hit the gun with his hand and tossed it to the side. As his attacker came at him once again, Karl landed a punch to the side of his skull. He fell backwards, giving Karl time to run to the living room.

"Daddy?" Bailey said, standing at the far end of the room.

"Bailey, baby!" Karl ran over to her, grabbing the duffel bag as he went. "Carry this for me." He pulled a rifle from the bag and handed the bag to his daughter.

"OK." She look it and slung it over her shoulder.

Karl raised his rifle. That was when he realized his mistake.

"Dammit! I forgot to load it!" He turned back towards his daughter to get a magazine from the bag.

"Daddy!" Bailey cried.

Karl spun around, swinging the rifle like a club. The butt smashed into the man's face with a loud _crack!_ The man fell to the floor and writhed for a moment before falling still.

"Oh my God!" Bailey whimpered.

"Shh, baby; it'll be fine."

"That was Mr. Davison... We at lunch with him just yesterday... what happened to him?"

Footsteps echoed through the house

"Karl? Bailey?"

"George!" Karl took Bailey's hand and led her to his brother's voice.

The met in the hallway, where the other body lay, crumpled against the wall.

"Is that Kenny Davison?" George asked.

"I think so." Karl replied.

"They must be infected." George murmured.

"Infected?" Karl asked.

"On the news; they said that it was some sort of virus that was causing people to get sick. _Real_ sick."

"Seems for like they've all gone insane to me." Karl stated.

"Did anyone get hurt? Any bites?"

"No. We're fine."

"Alright." George said as he began to walk to the front door. "C'mon, we're getting outta here."

Alan Cooper trudged through the thick forest of Jackson County, twenty-one years after the outbreak. He had come all the way from Springfield, Massachusetts in search of a place that may be free of the threat of infected. So, here he was, nearing the end of his two-year-long journey. Hopefully.

The woods where beginning to spread out. The trees where no longer pressed against one another, and the dense undergrowth was thinning. Ahead he could see a road leading down to a large river.

"This is it, Alan." he said to himself. "The middle of nowhere; this is the most likely place to be infected-free."

He pushed through the last of the bushes and stepped out onto the road. He walked down it for a while before he stopped in his tracks and knelt to the ground, inspecting it closely.

"Oh no..." He brushed his fingers against a dark puddle and brought his fingers close to his face.

In the light that was left from the setting sun, Alan could easily make out the red on his hand. He stood abruptly and brought his pack down from his shoulders.

He continued to talk quietly to himself as he slid a shotgun from a leather holster strapped to the side of his pack and loaded in six shells. He left the katana strapped to the pack.

"Just keep quiet, Alan; if you're lucky all the infected have already left." He slung his pack back onto his back and stood to continue on his way.

"Come on, Joel, why can't I go hunting?" Ellie complained.

"Because it ain't safe, Ellie." Joel replied.

"_Come on_!" She threw her hands up in the air and set her bow down. "I defended myself from infected for months while you where injured. I was able to keep us _both_ alive in the middle of nowhere. Here we know the area, and we keep it clear of any infected."

"You know, Joel," A voice said from behind them.

Joel and Ellie turned to face the speaker. It was Tommy.

"She is right." Tommy continued. "The whole forest is almost completely empty of infected. It would be good for her to get out of these walls every now and then." Tommy moved further into the room.

"Do you not remember what happened the last time she left the town?" Joel asked.

"Yes."

"What if that happens again?"

"The odds of her getting attacked by a bear again are mute." Tommy said.

Ellie spoke up. "I can take care of myself, Joel, and you know it!"

"Ellie-" Joel began, but was interrupted by Tommy.

"How about we send somebody with her?" Tommy suggested. "Ellie gets along well will maria; I'm sure she wouldn't mind going out for a little bit with her."

Joel thought. It _would_ be good fer her to get some fresh air and time away from the town. And she could use a break from all of the boys that annoyed her. He sighed and agreed, "Fine, but at the first sign of infected, Maria is to bring her back. Clear?"

Tommy nodded. "Crystal, Joel." He turned to Ellie. "Come on, Ellie, lets go see if Maria will take you outside.

Maria and Ellie crouched behind behind a rock facing a highway that passed less than a mile away from the dam. On the highway stood an elk, eating away at random patches of grass and flowers that sprouted up through the pavement.

"Alright, Ellie, make your shot." Maria said quietly.

Ellie nodded and stood into a taller crouch. She drew back an arrow and prepared to let it fly, but she stopped.

"Ellie? What's wrong?" Maria asked, drawing her gun just in case.

"Someone is coming." She eased the arrow off of the string and ducked behind the rock. From there the two women watched the road closely.

Shuffled footsteps could be heard drawing near their part of the road.

"Infected?" Ellie asked.

"No, there isn't enough noise to be an infected. It must be a bandit." Maria said.

"Or another survivor." Ellie added.

Once again they peeked over the top of the rock, and this time the owner of the footsteps- a young boy no older than- could be seen walking down the road. He wore brown cargo pants and a skin-tight blue shirt, and was laden with a pack. The pack had a long, curved sword tied to it by a rusted sheath, and holstered gun was strapped to his right thigh. In his hands he held a shotgun, raised, as if waiting for an impending attack.

"Look how he is crouched low like that, with his gun at the ready." Maria observed.

"Yeah, he must've seen something..." Ellie said.

"He's staying out of the trees; if he was hunting or avoiding a human he would be inside treeline."

"That means there must be infected nearby."Ellie murmured.

"Ellie..." Maria said to her. "Do you see that?"

"See what?"

"He looks like he is limping... I think he may have been bitten!" Maria gasped.

"Can we be sure? I mean; what if he's just been hurt somehow?"

Maria looked around briefly. "I know." She placed two fingers to her lips and blew a sharp, quick whistle that sounded almost exactly like a bird.

The boy on the road stopped and looked in their direction. Maria waved him over, and he carefully made his way over to them. He climbed quickly up the steep hill to them and crouched down opposite of them.

"Kid, are you injured?" Maria asked.

"Who are you guys?" He hissed.

"People who can help; but right now we need to know; _are you infected_?" Maria hissed back.

He shook his head. "No, but I twisted my ankle a couple of minutes ago trying to avoid some infected. If you really are going to help me, then we need to get going. _Now!_"

"Maria," Ellie said. "We should get him back to the town."

"I agree." Tommy's wife nodded. "Get the two of you onto your horse and go back; I'll come after."

"What are you going to do?" The boy asked.

"See if I can kill them." Maria replied. "The last thing that we need is infected finding their way to our town. If I can take them out now-"

"That won't work!" The boy said. "There's too many; you'll get bitten before you even fire off a shot."

Maria looked at him. "How many?"

"Dozens."

Maria sighed and stood slowly. "Alright. Ellie, head back to the town. I have to talk to Tommy at the dam."

Ellie nodded. "OK, I'll see you at dinner."

Maria nodded and walked off towards where the horses had been tied up.

The boy hopped gently over the rock onto Ellie's side. "So," He said. "You guys have a whole town?"

"Yeah." Ellie nodded.

"You still deal with infected, right?" He asked.

"Of course, but Tommy said that none have gotten into the town in years." Ellie replied as they began walking to the horses.

Standing next to him, Ellie realized how much taller he was than her; at least a full head. Through the shirt she could easily make out a six pack, along with fairly sized biceps.

"Tommy?" He asked.

"Him and Maria kinda run the place."

"Oh, cool."

The two neared Ellie's horse, and the boy tucked his shotgun into the holster. He hoisted himself up and lowered a hand towards Ellie.

Hesitantly, Ellie raised her arm to his. The boy grabbed her wrist, and she took hold of his, then he pulled her up onto the horse.

"Thanks. You on?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm on."

"Then hold tight." Ellie snapped the reigns and gave a kick to the horse's side, and they where off to the town.


	2. Chapter 2 two of a kind

**(AN)I hope you enjoy this chapter of ****_The Last of Us Two_****. I hope to hear what you liked and what should be changed. I'm looking for ideas for future chapters and all help greatly appreciated.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own **_**The Last of Us**_**, or any of it's characters.**

Chapter Two

Two of a Kind

Ellie rode her horse through the gates of town with the boy behind her.

"Your name is Ellie, right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "What's yours?"

"Alan." He replied.

Ellie dismounted, and Alan after her. A couple of men walked up and took the reigns from her and walked the horse away to the stables.

"Here, Alan; follow me." Ellie gestured for him to come with her and started off down the refurbished street.

The newcomer walked after her, trying to hide the limp in his ankle from any more people. "So, you guys have quite the place here." He said, looking around.

"Yeah, well, Tommy and Maria were part of a large group when they came across this town. They didn't want to have to run anymore, so they cleared it of infected and built the wall." Ellie explained, remembering what Joel's brother had told them. "After that it just sort of expanded."

"How many did they have? I've never been through a town that hasn't had a massive horde of infected." Alan asked as he peered through a window as they passed by it. He could swear that there were lights inside. "Does this place have electricity?" He asked in aw.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "There's a power plant just over the hill. As for how many people they had; I'm not sure. When Joel and I first arrived everyone was already here."

"So you guys got here the same way I did; you just passed by and they found you."

"Well, not exactly." Ellie replied. "We where looking for Joel's brother when we found the plant. We got lucky he was there. We didn't even stay the first time; we where searching for the Fireflies and couldn't stay."

"But you didn't find what you where looking for." Alan guessed.

"Well, yes and no; we found the Fireflies, they just weren't... they didn't have what we needed anymore. So we came back."

Alan nodded. "I see."

Ellie stopped in front of a house and turned to Alan. "Well, this is where Joel and I stay. Come on in, I'll introduce you two and see if I can find something to support your ankle." She walked up the path to the porch, stopping when she reached the door.

Alan hesitated. Ellie looked back at him and said, "You coming?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." He nodded weakly and walked to where she stood, waiting.

"Joel! I'm back, and I've brought company!" Ellie shouted up the stairs as she knelt down to untie her shoes.

Alan slowly did the same.

"You seem tense, Alan." Ellie observed.

"I guess I'm just used to being ready to run out the door if necessary." He replied with a nervous laugh.

Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. "Ellie?" Joel called down.

"Yeah?" She called back.

"Did I hear brought someone over?" Joel said as he reached the bottom of the steps.

"No one from the town." She said. "This is Alan; Maria and I found him by the road."

"No bites?" Joel asked cautiously.

"No sir." Alan replied.

Joel narrowed his eyes for a second, but then relaxed and turned back to Ellie. "Well, you didn't eat before you left, so I had to throw dinner in the fridge. You two get seated at the table and I'll heat it up."

"Thanks, Joel." Ellie led Alan into the next room, where an old wooden table sat with two plates. "I'll grab another plate; just have a seat."

"Thanks, Ellie."

"Don't mention it," She walked over to a cupboard and pulled out an extra plate. "I'll take a look at your ankle after dinner." She said.

"Uh, sure, thanks."

Ellie eyed him for a moment as she set the plate down and took a seat. "Alan, you're acting really weird...are you always-"

"Ellie, get away from him!" Joel barked."

"What?" Ellie looked to the doorway, where Joel stood holding a gun. "Joel, are you crazy? What are you doing?"

"Get away from him!" Joel repeated. "He's infected."

Ellie looked at Joel, then Alan. Quickly she stood and moved over to Joel. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"Look at his leg; the bottom of his Jeans have puncture marks, and are covered in blood."

Alan stood and moved to the opposite end of the room. "Listen, I can explain; I'm _not_ infected!"

"You have thirty seconds; talk."

"I'm not infected; I can't be infected." Alan rolled up his shirt, revealing a scar on his hip.

"Oh my God..." Ellie gasped.

Surprised, Joel lowered his gun slightly. "Ellie... Roll up your sleeve..."

"OK..." Ellie did as she was told, and Joel let go of the gun with his left hand. He reached for her arm and pulled it closer for him to see. The scarring wound from an infected's bite was identical to

"I'll be damned." Joel muttered.

"Joel," Ellie said. "He's immune!"

Alan sat in a small room on one of the many chairs positioned along a wall with Ellie seated beside him.

"I didn't think anyone else read comic books anymore." Ellie said, looking at thee thin paper booklet in her lap.

"Well, they aren't exactly something worth trading for, and are hard to come by." Alan explained. "But these belong to my dad, I took a few with me because there was nothing else that I could remember him by."

"Wait, you said 'a few', how many does he have?"

"He has over a thousand." Alan replied.

"A thousand?" Ellie gasped. "Did they even make that many?"

"Yeah; each issue is usually part of a one fifty to two hundred-part collection. Then there are the individual collections; there a tons! For this super-hero," Alan held up the comic that he had been showing Ellie. "Spider-man, I've seen at least seven different collections. And that is nothing; there a dozen's of different starring heroes."

"Wow..." Ellie took the comic from Alan and looked at the cover. "So let me get this straight; this guy..."

"Peter Parker." Alan filled in.

"This guys Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, and that gave him super-strength and the ability to climb walls, Correct?"

"Correct."

"Wow, that's pretty cool." Ellie grinned as she flipped through the comic.

"Yeah," Alan nodded. "Although I wouldn't want to be in a world with those villains.

"I think that even a world filled with aliens and super villains sounds pretty good compared what we've got right now." Ellie sighed.

Just then the doors opened Joel walked in, another man beside him.

"Alan," The other man said. He looked to be a couple of years older than Joel, and wore grey pants, a plain white short and a stained lab coat. "My name is Harold, and I _strongly_ agree, that you cannot be infected. Testing your blood has revealed something to me; You have the infection inside of your blood cells, but _only_ in your blood cells."

"Wait, just in my blood- what do you mean by that?" Alan asked.

"The infection _courses_ through your bloodstream, but it is trapped there; something about your genetic code must be _trapping_ the cordyceps fungus in your blood, preventing it from reaching your nervous system. Once that happens, the virus has a _clear_ path to your brain, and you stand _no chance_ against it."

"You too, Ellie," Joel said.

"So," Ellie said. "We have some sort of blood-blocker that keeps the infection at bay?"

"Well, the blood isn't being blocked, but that is the general idea." Harold replied.

"Have they moved on?" Maria spoke into a radio.

_"No Ma'am, they're still heading towards the town."_ Replied the scout which had been sent out to keep tabs on the horde of infected that Alan spoke of.

"How many did you say there are?"

_"More than I'd like to say, Ma'am."_

"And you're sure there is no chance of them passing harmlessly by?" Maria asked.

_"I'm sure; they're making a beeline for the walls."_

Maria cursed. "Alright, you've done your job; head back to town."

_"Ma'am?"_ The scout spoke up.

"Yes?"

_"Are we going into a lock down?"_

"Hurry up, or you'll get yourself locked out." Maria answered.

_"Yes Ma'am."_

Maria cursed once again and threw the radio onto the table in front of her.

"That bad, huh?" Tommy said from where he stood, looking out of the window. The two of them where in the control room of the dam, with a clear view of the town in the valley below.

"Worse; the horde isn't just going to pass by; they're going to come straight for the town." Maria explained their situation.

"Just relax, Maria; we've dealt with situations like this before." Tommy said, trying to calm his wife down.

"I know, but every time they happen we lose men; good men!" Maria exclaimed.

"We'll just have to go through the lock down procedure, there is a chance that they will go around the town."

Maria put her head in her hands. "Lets hope so, Tommy."

Alan, Ellie and Joel sat in the kitchen of the house that they now shared, eating dinner.

"I'm grateful that you took me in like this." Alan thanked Joel and Ellie before impaling another piece of meat on his fork.

"Don't mention it." Joel said. "There are only a couple of kids Ellie's age, and they're all ass holes."

"All of them?" Alan asked.

"All of them." Joel and Ellie replied at the same time.

"Wow, this town small enough; I thought that everyone would get along."

"The people that that get along," Joel said. "Are the ones that know that it is the key to survival. None of the kids have ever been outside these walls. Therefor, they don't bother to think twice before they smart off or insult- except for you and Ellie."

"Yeah, but Joel, it also depends on which town the grew up in, doesn't it?" Ellie asked.

"Of course it does." Joel nodded. "The children in Boston lived a disciplined lifestyle, and knew when they should shut up and be thankful." Joel took a drink of water, then added," Although, Ellie, I recall you having a hard time being thankful when we first started out."

Ellie laughed. "Yeah, well, back then I hated your guts."

"And I yours." Joel laughed back. "I don't think it was until after we passed through Bill's town that we started warming up to each other."

Alan looked at the two. "You guys have been through a lot together."

Ellie and Joel looked at each other.

"Yeah," Joel nodded. "It was quite the adventure."

"Hey," Ellie said. She was grinning slightly, as though she was plotting something. "Maybe we should go on another sometime; all three of us. It would be a great multiple near-death-bonding experience!"

"I think not," Joel shook his head with a grin. "I've had enough of that already."

The three continued talking for a while before the lights flickered out.

"What happened?" Alan squinted in the dark. The sun had set behind the horizon a few hours ago, leaving them in complete darkness.

"The lights went out." Joel said as though it was a normal occurrence.

"I can see that," Alan said sarcastically. He could still hear the sound of Ellie and Joel scraping away at their plates. "This happens often?"

"Fairly," Ellie said. "Tommy said that sometimes the power will go out for a few minutes. It just means that a turbine needs to be adjusted or something."

Joel then added. "Well, either that or-" He stopped. Alan's eyes had adjusted to the dark by now, and he could see the man looking out of the window.

"Joel?" Ellie said. "What-" Whatever Joel had been looking at, Ellie must have seen as well.

"What is it?" Alan asked. "What do you see?"

"Flashlights." Ellie said. "There's a patrol coming; that means-"

"We're going into lock down!"

The two began moving throughout the house, closing windows, shutting blinds and locking doors. Alan sat at the table watching them in confusion.

"Alright, you two get down in the basement." Joel ordered.

Ellie came back into the kitchen and took Alan by his wrist. "C'mon, Alan." She said, guiding him to a door. She opened it and pulled him inside.

"What is going on?" Alan asked as they descended a flight of stairs. "What is a lock down?"

"The only time the town goes into a lock down," Ellie explained as she turned on a lamp. "Is when it is at risk of being overrun by infected."

Joel had just finished shutting the windows when there was a knock on the door. "Thaat'll be the patrol." He said to himself as he went to answer it. He opened the door and was met by his brother.

"Tommy?"

"Joel," His brother began. "You probably realized that we're facing an infected threat, correct?"

"Yeah, we figured that much." Joel replied.

"Anyways, the threat is more serious than you might think, and my men need extra help,"

"And you want me to help, right?" Joel guessed.

"Yes; we've been sending men to recruit as many adults as we can. I thought you'd be easier to convince if I came personally."

Joel thought for a moment. This town kept Ellie safe from infected and hunters, if there was a possibility that that safety might be taken away, Joel wanted to fight to prevent it.

"All right, I'll help." Joel nodded. "Let me get my pack."

"Hurry," Tommy said. "The when I left the wall, the horde was already withing eyesight."

Joel nodded and ran back into the house. "Ellie?" Joel called as wade his way to his room.

The basement door opened, and the two kids poked their heads out. "Joel?" Ellie asked. "What is it?"

Joel opened his closet and grabbed his pack off of the top shelf. Returning to the first floor, Joel told the two teens what he was gong to do.

"Why can't we help?" Ellie demanded. "We know how to fight!"

"I know you can, but the adults are fighting to keep all the kids _safe_." Joel said. "If we have any of you running around at the wall it defeats the purpose of trying to protect you."

"But-" Ellie was about to object again, but was interrupted.

"Ellie," Alan said. "He's right; if we're up there we'll only get in the way of the adults. We'd best stay here and wait all this out."

"Thanks," Joel said.

"Alan!" Ellie snapped. "Are you so afraid of a fight?"

"I'll fight, but only when it is absolutely necessary." He countered. "This isn't a time like that; we aren't needed out there."

"Ellie opened her mouth as if she was preparing to make another objection, but didn't. "Fine." She grumbled.

The door opened and Tommy ran up to Joel. "Joel!we have to go now!"

"What happened?"

"The horde; They're getting through the walls!"

Joel turned to Ellie and Alan. "I have to go now, but stay alert." He then spoke directly to Ellie. "You'll probably be getting that fight you wanted."

Joel turned to Tommy, and the two men walked out the door.

"Do you still remember how to kill?" Tommy asked.

"Did I the last time you asked?" Joel replied.

"Sure as hell."

They walked down the street towards the wall, Joel pulled out his revolver. He wiped the thick layer of dust off of it and sighed. It had been nearly a year since he had killed an infected. _Can i still do it? Do I have what it takes anymore?_

He didn't know the answers to those questions, but he was about to find out.


	3. Chapter 3 Home-Town Invaders

**(AN) I hope you enjoy this chapter, please let me know what is good, bad, or needs to be fixed or tweaked.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Last of Us or any of it's characters.**

The Last of Us Two

Chapter Three, Home-Town Invaders

Ellie and Alan sat in the basement of their shared house, playing a game of chess. They had taken the necessary precautions before coming down, and where trying to relax. They had brought down some food and their packs, and Alan had taken a few minutes the hang empty cans above all the windows and doors. If anything found it's way inside, they would hear it coming. Of course, the screaming of infected and gunshots ringing from the walls around the town didn't help, but they where able to stay calm.

"Joel taught me how to play this game a few days ago." Ellie said, moving one of her rooks.

"My dad brushed over it, but I hardly remember what he said." He moved his pawn at an angle. "Is that right?"

Ellie laughed. "No; the pawns can only move forwards unless they can take a piece out- which can only be done at an angle."

"Oh, I think I can remember that."

Ellie laughed. "So, what made you decide to leave your quarantine zone?" Ellie asked, examining Alan's move.

"We had to; the soldiers got drunk one night, and they let their guard down." Alan replied. "The infected waiting on the outside of the city ripped through the remaining defences. Outside of the quarantine zone suddenly became a safer, more welcoming option. Most of my family didn't even make it out."

Ellie wished she hadn't asked. She could see Alan's sad expression in the light of the lamp. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, no, it's OK; If we're going to be living in the same house, we're going to have to get to know one another." Alan said dismissively.

The two sat there in silence, taking small bites of food and maneuverings their pieces around the faded chess board.

"You know," Alan spoke up after a while. "My dad used to say that the first sign of friendship, is an awkward silence."

Ellie laughed. "I think he may be right!"

"Me too."

Ellie let out a yawn and stretched her arms out. "Man, I'm tired."

"You go ahead and get some sleep."

"What about you?" She asked.

"One of us should keep watch; just in case. I'll do it, you sleep."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine; I slept late this morning." Alan lied.

Ellie yawned once again. "All right, see you in the morning." She shoved herself up and onto the couch behind her, where she pulled a blanket over herself and fell asleep within seconds.

There was a faint rattling of metal, and Alan sat up immediately, rubbing his eyes. _I fell asleep!_ He thought. He looked to where Ellie lay on the couch, still fast asleep. He then listened carefully.

The jangling continued.

"Ellie!" He hissed. "Ellie?"

"Huh?" She turned towards Alan and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands.

"Shh! Stay quiet and get you pack!" He said before reaching for his own.

Ellie's eyes widened and she rolled off of the couch. "Are they inside?"

"I don't know, what time is it?" Alan asked.

"I'm not sure..." Ellie pulled out her flashlight and shone it around the room. She settled the light on an old clock.

"It's one-O-five in the morning." She said.

"That mean's it'll still be dark out..." Alan said. "I heard the cans rattling, but it may have just been Joel."

As if on cue, the basement door opened. "You two down there?" Joel's voice rang out.

"Yeah," Ellie replied. They could hear Joel coming down the stairs.

"I take it you where able to keep the infected out?" Alan said.

Joel stopped in front of the kids. He was breathing heavily, his was covered in dirt, and his clothes where tattered and bloody.

"Joel," Ellie began. "That isn't yours...is it?"

"No," He said. "C'mon, we need to go."

"Wait, you _did_ kill the horde, didn't you?" Alan asked.

"Most of them," Joel explained. He turned of the lamp. "We where wrapping up when we found a portion of the wall that had been completely destroyed; we don't know how many got in." Joel walked back to the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Ellie asked.

"To the power plant; Tommy is getting everyone holed up there until we're sure that all the infected are gone."

"How do we know that there aren't dozens of them just outside the house?" Ellie demanded.

Joel paused. "We don't."

He moved quickly up the stairs, with Ellie and Alan right behind him, but stopped at the door. All three of them could hear cans clattering loudly.

"Damn!" Ellie cursed.

"We know now." Alan grumbled.

"Stay calm; well go quickly and quietly." Joel instructed.

Ellie pulled out her knife. "Alright, I'm ready."

Joel looked to Alan. "You good?"

Alan readjusted his pack on his shoulders and fastened the support strap across his chest. "I'm good."

"I hope you know how to you know how to use that thing." Joel nodded towards the long Japanese sword fitted between Alan's bag and his back, and then pushed through the door.

Alan muttered, "Like you wouldn't believe." then he followed the others into the house.

"I'm sure they're all right," Maria said gently, taking her husband into a hug.

"They should have gotten here by now!" Tommy pulled away and moved to the window of the control room.

"Look at it!" Tommy gestured towards the town below. "Its being destroyed!"

"At least we now know that infected weren't responsible for this." Maria said.

"Damn thieves aren't much better; only cowards would attack people that are recovering from and infected attack." Tommy cursed.

"They'll be fine,"

"Raiders can shoot!"

"They can also be shot; Ellie is a crack shot with a gun." Maria countered. "Though one bullet won't always kill an infected, it sure as hell can take out a hunter."

Joel, Ellie and Alan spread throughout the first floor of the house. Joel moved to the kitchen by himself while the others searched the front rooms together.

"How many people do you think made it to the dam?" Ellie whispered to Alan.

"I think it'd be best if we didn't think about that right now." Alan cautioned.

"Yeah, you're right." Ellie said.

"Wait," Alan stopped at the doorway leading to the greeting room. He held a finger to his lips and ducked to the side of the doorway. Ellie followed his lead and crouched against the wall behind him.

The two could hear the faint clanking of cans as the door into the house opened with a creak. Alan looked at Ellie.

"Something opened the door!" Ellie hissed.

"Infected can't do that..." Alan whispered back.

"Hunters!" Ellie said. Just then gunshots rang out from the kitchen.

Footsteps sounded on the floor of the greeting room. Alan chanced a peek around the doorway and got a clear look of the intruder. A man with gruff facial features holding a shotgun was making his way to the doorway which the two hid behind.

Alan positioned himself for a lunge and reached behind his head. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword, waiting.

The barrel of the hunter's shotgun appeared through the doorway, followed by his arms. In one swift motion, Alan brought his sword from the sheath, over his head and down onto the Hunter's arm.

"Ow! Goddammit!" The hunter cried out. His left hand was limp and useless at his side as he stumbled back into the greeting room. He drew in a breath to shout, but Alan lunged, and with a swift swipe the hunter fell to the floor.

"Holy shit!" Ellie said, following him into the greeting room. "His head!"

Joel entered the room. "You two alright?"

"Yeah," The two replied.

Joel's gaze landed on the dead hunter, then to Ellie staring at the decapitated body. "C'mon, don't look at him." He grabbed Ellie by the top of her pack and pulled her out of the front door.

Alan followed, his sword at the ready.

"Keep your eyes ahead of you." Joel ordered. Alan could tell why; several bodies lined the road.

"Infected definitely didn't do this," Alan said. "If they did, they would still be at the bodies..." He trailed off at the look that Joel gave him.

A light appeared at the end of the street, momentarily blinding the trio.

"Shit!" Joel dove behind a hedge and the others followed his lead. "We're probably outnumbered; our best bet is to stay low and only fight if we have to."

Ellie objected. "The hell with staying quiet; we've been outnumbered before! These guys are destroying our home; we should kick their asses outta-"

"No," Joel said firmly. "Just stay close and don't get spotted." Before Ellie could object, he ran out from cover and ducked behind a car a few meters away from where Ellie and Alan were still crouched.

"Sometimes he can be a dick!" Ellie fumed.

"But he's right, Ellie. You should listen to him more." Alan said.

"Lets just get going."

"Fine," Alan nodded. He moved himself behind Ellie along the hedge. "You go first; wait until the light is aimed away."

"I know how to sneak around!" Ellie snapped, upset by the fact that Alan always seemed to side with Joel. They light swung away, and Ellie dashed to join Joel.

Alan positioned himself to follow, but then he saw Ellie waving frantically and pointing behind him.

At first Alan was confused, then he spun around- just to get a wooden bat across his chest. Winded, he fell to the ground. Tears in his eyes, he fumbled for his pistol, but his eyes couldn't focus on anything. He stared up and watch the blurred figure which had delivered the blow raise the bat.

When Ellie saw the hunter sneaking up behind Alan she panicked. She waved frantically, pointing him out. At first, Alan didn't understand but when he _did_ it was too late.

As Alan lay helpless on the ground with the hunter towering above him, she reacted by pulling her gun out and shooting. The hunter fell to the ground, and immediately shouts could be heard coming down the road.

"Dammit!" Joel cursed. "Go get him, Ellie! I'll cover you!"

"Got it!" Ellie said before scrambling over to Alan.

"Ugh..." Alan moaned, trying to get up.

"Alan!" Ellie said. "God dammit! C'mon!" She knelt down and threw his arm across her shoulders and helped him stand. She helped him over to where Joel was crouched, shooting at the hunters.

"I've got him, lets get out of here!" Ellie said.

"Alright, make a run for that alley; I'll cover you." Joel said, sliding a new clip into his gun.

Ellie nodded and shifted herself and Alan into a ready crouch. "Hang in there; we're almost through."

She looked at Joel, who held up a hand, signalling for her to wait. "On three; one. Two. Three!" Joel rose up behind the car and started shooting again, and Ellie booked it. She ran as fast as she could with Alan stumbling alongside her. Bullets whizzed past them; one even tore through her pack, just missing her body. They reached the alleyway and moved deeper into it.

"You alright?" Joel asked, suddenly beside them.

"Well, no worse than we were a few seconds ago." Ellie said, shifting Alan's weight.

"Alright, follow me; the wall is right over there. We can climb over, then we should be home-free."


	4. Chapter 4 Hitch Hikers

**(AN) I hope you all enjoy this chapter of ****_The Last of Us Two_****. Please leave a review letting me know what you liked, disliked, and what should be added or changed. i am also open for any ideas for future chapters.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Last of Us or any of its characters.**

The Last of Us Two

Chapter 4, Hitch hikers

Alan opened his eyes slowly, letting his vision adjust to the darkness that surrounded him. After s few seconds, he tried sitting up, but grunted in pain and fell back down onto the hard bed that he lay on. He tried again, this time managing to sit up.

"Hey, hey, take it easy." Alan heard someone say. He felt a hand on his chest, gently pushing him back down. "You've been out a while; you took a pretty hard hit back there."

"W-where..." Alan paused, trying to keep a stutter under control. "Where am I?"

"You're safe; we made it to the power plant."

"Are there any lights?"

"Oh! Yeah, just a second." Alan heard shuffling, then the striking of a match. He turned his head to the side, and his eyes followed the reddish orange flame until it collided with an oil lamp sitting on a table beside him. In the dim light, He could see Ellie sitting in a chair next to the bed.

"Have you been here the whole time?" He asked.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded, waving out the match. "The doctor asked me to help you recover; he said something about people that you can relate to helps the time go by." Alan grunted and made to pull himself into an upright position once again, but Ellie placed her hand on his chest to stop him from rising anymore. "You need rest,"

"Why?" Alan asked. "I'm just a little sore; I've had worse than that in the past and have walked away just fine." He pushed himself up against Ellie's hand, but she easily pushed him onto his back.

"You're weak, Alan," Ellie told him. "Plus, the doctor wanted to keep an eye on you for a while."

"Why?"

"Well..." Ellie fidgeted with her hands.

"Ellie, what is it?" Alan said, sitting up again; this time she didn't stop him.

"Alan..." She began. "When we got to the plant... we realized something that we hadn't at the moment..." She reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a mirror. As she held it up for Alan to see she looked slightly sad.

Alan leaned closer to look at his refection in the mirror. "Oh...shit!" He lighted his hands to feel his face. Just above and to the left of the bridge of his nose was a line of about four stitches, and his left eye... "Ellie..." He breathed. "My eye... its... lost it's color!" Alan stared with his mouth agape at his left eye's iris, which was now a light grey.

"The bat splintered when it hit you; a piece cut into your nose. The doctor believes that the splinter cut through a nerve or something, and it just happened to damaged your eye..." Ellie explained the doctor's theory. "Can you see clearly?" She asked, setting the mirror back onto the table.

"Crystal." Alan nodded.

Ellie paused for a moment, then leaned forward towards Alan, pressing her hand to his forehead. "You're burning up!" She stood and walked to a sink in the corner, where she filled a bowl with hot water. Before returning to Alan's bedside she grabbed a tattered cloth off of a rack and soaked it in the water. Ellie sat down in her chair and- after laying Alan back down- she scooted forwards so that she sat next to his head.

"Enjoying playing nurse?" Alan asked teasingly.

As Ellie wrung out the cloth and placed it on his forehead she replied, "Hmm, maybe just a little bit."

Joel leaned against the table in the dam's control room, talking to his brother and his wife.

"I'm sorry Joel, but the town isn't safe anymore, and the dam isn't much better." Tommy said.

"The hunters have the town," Maria explained. "It won't be long before they take the dam-"

"And kill everybody here." Joel finished for her.

"Yeah..."

"Well, I guess that there's always Boston..." Joel said. "Its worth the risk of travelling so far to get back to it. Without the fireflies there's virtually no more threat."

"Joel, you guys caused a lot of trouble there..." Tommy said.

"That was over two years ago. Besides, nobody that got a look at our faces lived to identify us."

"You sure?" Tommy asked. "I mean, what will the military think of two survivors showing up at their doorstep?"

Joel paused. "Three."

"What?"

"Three; Alan is coming with us."

"Really? You always hated having extra people around." Tommy said.

"Well, not anymore," Joel replied. "Because I was hoping that we could make that number five."

Ellie and Alan were talking quietly when the door to the room opened.

"Ellie, Alan," It was Joel. "We're leaving."

"Leaving?" Ellie asked. "Now?"

"Now." Joel nodded.

"What about Alan?" Ellie asked.

"If it is what he wants, he's coming with us." Joel said.

Ellie looked to Alan.

"You guys brought me in when i was out, and Ellie is the only friend I've got." Alan said. "I'm coming with you- if I can even move." He swung his leg out of the bed and pushed off. The moment his feet touched the floor his legs gave way beneath him.

"Careful!" Ellie scolded him as she caught him.

"We have a solution." Joel said. "Tommy and Maria have a car that works, they're meeting us at the back of the dam in five minutes."

"I thought they run the place." Alan said.

"They do." Ellie replied. "Why are they leaving the town?"

"Because," Joel said. "There is hardly a town left."

A white suburban rolled through the forest-surrounded road of Jackson County. It had a hard sided trailer in to behind it. Tommy and Maria sat in the suburban with Joel behind the wheel. The three adults talked about what had happened and what to do next while while Ellie had made herself at home in the trailer, tending to Alan.

Alan sat on a pull-out couch. After they had met up with the others, Maria had noticed bleeding. They examined under his shirt and found a nasty wound. Bits if wood had sliced open his skin and embedded themselves there.

Ellie was making herself busy with a first-aid.

"Ow!" Al1an gritted his teeth as Ellie poured hydrogen peroxide on his wound.

"Hold still!" She ordered.

"I'm trying!" He said. "But do you think you could- Ouch! Make fixing it less painful than it was to get it?"

"If we don't get this cleaned you'll get an infection!" She explained.

"Why does it matter?" He said with a pained grin. "You and I already infected, remember?"

"You know what type of infection I meant." She scolded.

Alan laughed slightly.

"There, finished; was that so bad?" Ellie asked.

"Yes!" Alan said. "It was!"

The trailer pulled to a quick stop and quite a bit of disinfectant sloshed out of the bottle. Alan arched his back and gritted his teeth. "God dammit!"

"I'm so sorry!" Ellie capped the bottle and dabbed at the peroxide with a cloth to get it off of his wound. "Too much of that will only make it worse."

"What do you think made them decide to stop?" Alan asked.

"Do we really want to know?" She replied. "We should just let them deal with whatever it is right now."

Ellie grabbed a set of tweezers and was about to start on the splinters when the trailer door opened. Maria stepped in and shut the door behind her. She flipped the lock down.

"What is it?" Alan asked.

"Infected on the road ahead." She said.

"Have they seen us?" Ellie asked.

"Not yet, but they're headed this way."

"We're not abandoning the car and trailer, are we?"

"No, that would be a foolish thing to do even without injured." Maria said. "We're just going to sit this out. If we have to Joel will just plough through them, but we want to avoid that if we can."

"Can someone hand me my pack?" Alan asked.

Ellie's face was solemn. "Alan... we were under a lot of stress when you were injured..."

"Oh no..." He breathed.

"... I forgot to grab it off of the ground..." Ellie explained. "I'm so, _so_ sorry!"

"All of my belongings were in there; all of my dad's stuff!" Alan exclaimed.

"Shh!" Maria hushed him. "We're all sorry about the pack, Alan, but right now we need everyone to have a cool head."

"Yeah... you're right." He said. "I need a gun."

"I can give you one," Ellie said. She picked her pack up off the floor and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. "Here." She handed him her pistol.

He pulled the clip out and counted the bullets. "Seven," He said.

"I have more," Ellie said, returning to her pack.

"It isn't a lot, but even one bullet goes a long way," Maria said.

"You kidding?" Alan said. "The most bullets I've ever had for any gun at one time was nine."

"So," Maria said, sitting down at a small table. "You've been by yourself out there?" She asked.

"Not always." Alan said. "I made some friends. At one point I was with a big group, but that didn't last long.

"What happened?" Ellie asked.

"We were going to find the fireflies, but then... I don't like talking about it."

"Did you... do you trust in the fireflies?"

"I guess... I'm not sure," Alan said. "I trust them more than the military, if that means anything."

"The leader of the fireflies is a good friend of mine. Whenever something bothers me, she says that the best way to get over it and feel better is to talk about it."

"Huh," Alan said. "My dad used to say the same thing."

"So," Ellie prodded. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Alan paused, then nodded. "We got held up in a city about a year and a half ago. I don't remember the name of the city; my mind probably blocked it out to try and stop the memories. I was in a large group for about a year.- maybe thirteen or fourteen people. The 'leader' of the group had a daughter, Kelly, and we became close friends... really close... When we reached the city we were separated by hunters. Kelly and I were separated from the group. We found the others... unfortunately what we found wasn't what we wanted to see."

"They were dead." Ellie guessed.

"Yeah..." Alan nodded. "We just barely made it out of the city alive."

"Were did you go then?"

"We made our way to the place that our group had decided to meet up at, hoping to find more survivors. When we caught up to them... we found them... Sam an Henry."

"Wait, Sam and Henry?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Joel and I joined up with people named Sam and Henry!" Ellie said. "Sam had been infected. He didn't tell us, and when we went to get him in the morning Henry had to shoot him. Then he... shot himself."

"Where did they die?" Alan asked.

"In a radio shack, just on the other side of a small neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city."

"That's them..."

"Alan, I wanted to bury them, but Joel insisted that we didn't have time..." Ellie said sympathetically.

"Its alright," Alan said, "Kelly and I buried them."

"Kelly..." Ellie said. "Did she..."

"Yeah..."

"What happened?"

Alan took a deep breath in. "We were fine for a long time, but then we met up with more people... they were fresh out of a QZ, and didn't last long. That really set her on the edge; she wouldn't eat as much, cried herself to sleep... she was a wreck. Then there was the university..."

"You found the university!" Ellie said.

"You know about it?" Alan asked.

"Yeah, ill never forget." She said. "Joel fell over a second floor balcony and got impaled on some debris."

"Anyways..." Alan continued. "We found the university empty. We knew we had found the right place, but we were to late. It was too much for Kelly. I tried to lift her spirits, but it didn't work. She woke me that night and said goodbye. I realized to late what she meant. I bolted up to stop her, but..."

"Oh..." Ellie said. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." Alan replied. "She is happier now, wherever she is."

Slammed the accelerator into the floor of the car.

"What the hell Joel!" Tommy exclaimed as the Suburban screeched forwards. "I thought we were waiting them out!"

"Clickers!" Joel explained. "I didn't see them earlier. They must've heard us talking; they came right up to the car window."

The Suburban hit several infected in its way as they sped through the darkness.

"Jesus, Joel!" Tommy said. "Are you _trying_ to hit them?"

"Might as well kill a few while we're at it." Joel replied, staring ahead through the windshield. He glanced at the side mirror. "Shit!"

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"We've got a couple of hitch hikers!" Joel said.

"What?"

"There's about four infected clinging onto the right side of the trailer." He said. "You got a gun to use?"

"Yeah," Tommy nodded. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a 45 millimetre pistol. He unbuckled and rolled down his window, spinning around in his seat.

"Just don't fall out of the damn car!" Joel cautioned.

"I won't; I'm not a rambunctious little brother anymore!" Tommy snapped.

"Okay, okay, calm down."

Tommy leaned out of the car window and raised his gun. "Slow down, Joel!" he said. "That trailer isn't bullet proof."

Joel eased up on the accelerator. "Just shoot straight."

Tommy held his arm steady as he aimed one of the infected. He squeezed the trigger. The infected fell to the ground and rolled away roughly.

"Gotcha, you infected sunnofa bitch." Tommy muttered to himself as he targeted the next infected.

Ellie was helping Alan off of the floor of the trailer when they heard gunshots.

"Dammit Joel!" Ellie cursed. "He could have taken it a bit slower!" When Joel had sped off Alan had been launched off of the couch and onto the floor.

"I'm sure he has his reasons." Maria said.

"What..." Alan winced as Ellie helped him back onto the couch. "What do you think they were shooting at?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Maria asked.

"I meant..." He gritted his teeth as Ellie returned to pulling the slivers out of his wound. "Why? If we're moving we should be fine."

"Maybe a couple of infected hopped on the trailer or something." Ellie said jokingly.

The three all looked at each other.

"Holy shit..." Ellie said. "I meant it as a joke, but..."

"Alan," Maria picked Ellie's pistol up off of the floor where it had fallen an handed it to the injured teenager. "Keep it ready just in case. Ellie, help me take a look out the windows."

"OK," Ellie set the tweezers down and walked over to a window.

"Ellie," Alan said. He held out the gun to her. "You probably need this a bit more than I do."

She went back over and took it from him. "Thanks." She returned to the window and cautiously took a peek out of it. At first he saw nothing. She was about to turn away when an infected popped up behind the glass.

"Shit!" Ellie stumbled back and pulled her gun up, firing through the window. Suddenly pounding began all across the side of the trailer.

"Dammit!" Maria said. "They must not have realized that there was anybody in here."

"Well they do now!" Ellie said.

"Shoot!"

"Where?"

"Anywhere! Just shoot!" Maria moved over to the small sink and crouched down as Ellie began shooting through the wall. She pulled open a cupboard and reached in to grab a sawed off shotgun. "Here!" She called to Ellie.

Ellie turned to her as she threw the shotgun. Ellie dropped her own and caught it, then cracked it open. Two shells. _Perfect!_ She pushed the barrel back into position and raised the gun. She paused, then moved over to the far corner- next to where Alan lay- and pointed the gun at an angle.

"Here goes nothing!" Ellie pulled the trigger, and blasted a holed in the trailer. They could all hear the sounds of infected falling the the ground and rolling away.

"Is that all of them?" Alan asked.

"Well," Ellie said. "The pounding stopped; that means something."

"That was a good idea," Maria said. "Shooting from an angle like that."

"Thanks," Ellie said, handing the gun back to Maria.

Ellie sat back down beside Alan. "It's about time that we got the rest of these splinters out." Ellie said, holding up the pair of tweezers. Alan groaned but didn't complain.


End file.
